


the trials we face

by hiiimaugust



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Not-So-Sole Sole, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 05:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11007249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiiimaugust/pseuds/hiiimaugust
Summary: Nathaniel Rose, Resource War Veteran and family man, had no idea what to do with his two children in his own time. Now stranded out of time with a dead wife and a missing son, he feels even more lost than before.Or that one where Nate and Nora have two kids and the other one is a first grader.





	the trials we face

Nathaniel Rose noticed his wife behind him. She blew on the mirror and wiped off the fog from his shower. "Clara's already up and doing her work," she said in way of greeting. "You should talk to her today. She's getting lonely."

Of course she was. His sweet little Clara, a sum total of six years old, and practically a stranger. He'd been allowed to visit on leave after he was drafted but he never had time to get to know her. They'd had to pull her from school. The bullying got to be too much. Fucking kids couldn't understand that her mother was Korean-American, _not_ Chinese.

From what he knew of his daughter, she was shy and small for her age. He loved her, how could he not, but the first time she stuttered out a quiet 'sir' instead of 'Daddy', broke his heart. The army took him from her for over half of her life. This damn war.

Having another child didn't help things. They couldn't afford to move, so Clara now shared a cramped room with Shaun, her two week old baby brother. He honestly didn't know what to do with either of them. Sometimes, he wished he'd bought a Miss Nanny instead of a Mr. Handy. He had no idea how to adjust to civilian life, let alone parenthood.

He took his coffee from Codsworth and sat down next to Clara. She looked up from her work book, basic math by the look of it, and gave him a shy smile. Some of her hair fell in her face.

"Hi." She turned back to her work, tucking the hair behind her ear.

He took a sip of his coffee and braced himself. Clara shouldn't have made him nervous, but she did. "Would you like to go to the park later, just you and me?"

"Really?"

He nodded. "Really."

"Thanks." She flung herself at him, arms circling his neck. The stool he sat on spun with the force of it. He looked over at Nora, who grinned.

"See, it's not that hard," she mouthed.

He put one hand on Clara's head the other on her back, holding her for the first time since he left the army. Part of him worried his strength would hurt her. She was so small. "Anytime."

She pulled herself back onto her stool, smile showing gapped teeth. Pencil hit paper and she went back to work.

Nora gave him a bigger smile and went into the kids' room to check on Shaun. Someone knocked on the door. "Vault Tech calling."

He groaned. Their local Vault Tech salesman had been bothering them for weeks. A Vault, 111, was being built up the hill. He understood the need for it, but he knew there would never be enough space for everyone. Not to mention the price of one space in the Vault, let alone four. He opened the door, glanced over his shoulder at Clara, and then opened his mouth to shoo the salesman away.

Only to find out they were being gifted four spaces, excluding Codsworth, in the vault. He took the paperwork gingerly and started filling it out. There was something slightly off, panicked about the salesman. He left, heading for the entrance to the vault.

Nate closed the door.

"Daddy," Clara whispered. "I feel funny."

His heart soared at the fact that she called him Daddy but she had a serious expression, like something was wrong. "What do you mean? Are you feeling sick?"

She shook her head. "I think something bad's gonna happen."

"Don't be dramatic, sweetheart." He ruffled her hair.

They got fifteen minutes of domestic bliss before the world went to hell.


End file.
